SXSW: DIIV

"Fuck SXSW." This week, those two words, posted to Tumblr, made DIIV frontman Zachary Cole Smith a hero-- and an enemy-- to a lot of people. Smith incorporated the sentiment into his lyrics during DIIV's headlining set last night at the Ground Control Touring showcase at Mohawk. A fan screamed, "Thank you for playing SXSW even though you hate it!"

Smith's noted skepticism of this festival did not prevent him from delivering a great, enthusiastic performance. (The crowd, filled largely by men wearing SX lanyards around their necks, inevitably exploded into an ecstatic pit fueled with youthful energy, typical of DIIV shows.) Performing with a new fifth member, Gryphon Graham, on keys and vocals, the band played two new songs. One, titled "Dust", was especially lyric-driven with swaths of scorched guitar noise.

Like Smith's extra-musical discussion, "Dust" felt radically unguarded, as did his response to one fan's Austin-specific taco joke. "Don't eat meat," Smith, who is vegan, said. "How many of you would hate to know that I haven't eaten meat in seven years?" Perhaps rather than dissing SXSW, Smith should demand it go 100% vegetarian.